Safety attachment for wallets



April 21, 1964 KRAUSE SAFETY ATTACHMENTS FOR WALLETS Filed Jan. 30, 1963FIG. I

INVENTOR. ERIOH K RA US E BY 9 i i ATTORN EY United States Patent3,129,741 SAFETY ATTACHMENTS FOR WALLETS Erich Krause, Rte. 28A, WestShokan, N.Y. Filed Jan. 30, 1963, Ser. No. 255,050 1 Claim. (Cl. 150-47)This invention relates to wallets, billfolds and like articles which areusually carried in a hip pocket, and constitutes an improvement over theinvention entitled Safety Attachments for Billfolds or Like Articlesdisclosed in my United States Patent No. 2,480,484, issued August 30,1949.

An object of the present invention is the provision of additional meansin connection with the envelope or bag in which a length of relativelystifi resilient wire or the like such as, for example, piano Wire, iscarried, whereby both the desired function of the device is moreefliciently and effectively attained and the useful life thereof issubstantially increased. In basic principle, the improved devicefunctions in a manner similar to that set forth in the above patent andit serves substantially the same purpose, that is, to provide, anattachment or insert for a wallet so that, when it is carried in thepocket it would be diificult for a pickpocket to extract it withoutalarming its possessor.

The above as Well as additional objects will become clear in thefollowing description wherein reference numerals refer to like-numberedparts in the accompanying drawing. It is to be noted that the drawing inintended primarily for the purpose of illustration and that it istherefore neither desired nor intended to limit the inventionnecessarily to the exact details shown or described except insofar asthey may be deemed essential to the invention.

Referring briefly to the drawing, FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of awallet in fully open position and showing, in broken, lines, the presentinvention incorporated therein.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1, with parts broken away and partly insection.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a view showing the wallet, with the safety device mountedtherein, with the two flaps thereof in substantially the positions theyassume when the wallet is folded prior to inserting into a hip pocket orjust after removing it from the pocket, after which it will open fullyor partly if not restrained by the hand of the user.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view of a garment having a hip pocket, partly insection with the front wall of the pocket broken away, showing thepositions taken by the two flaps of the wallet after insertion into thepocket and its release from the hand.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral 10 indicates a bag-likeor envelope-like container shaped to fit into a compartment of a walletor the like 11. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, thewallet is represented in its simplest form, that is, it is shownincluding only two opposed walls, the inner wall 12 and the outer wall13, together enclosing or defining the compartment 14 extendnig the fulllength of the wallet and open at the top.

The envelope 10 is dimensioned to fit more or less snugly within thecompartment 14, and is also shown open at the top, although, not shown,a closure flap such as is common on envelopes, may be provided to closethe top opening. Moreover, after the device has been assembled the topedge or opennig may be sealed by such a flap or by other means.

The envelope 10 includes the front wall 15 and the rear wall 16, and theenvelope is made of any suitable flexible fabric, synthetic plastic, oilcloth or other material. Guide means or members for the purpose notedbelow, are provided as follows. Secured within the two opposite ends ofthe envelope, preferably by means of cement or glue, are stiff or rigidguides 17. These guides, which are preferably made of sheet metal,essentially include two spaced parallel plates 18 and 19, rectangular inoutline and having the same height as the height of the envelope, FIGS.1 and 3, with the plate 18 cemented to the wall 15 of the envelope andthe plate 19 cemented to the wall 16. The top and bottom edges as wellas the outer edges, respectively shown at 20, 21 and 22, of the guides17, are closed, so that a pocket or recess 23 is provided between thewalls 18 and 19 thereof. As is to be noted, the wall 19 extends outwardbeyond the wall 18, that is, it is wider than the wall 18, thusproviding a more easily accessible entrance into this pocket.

A relatively stiff yet flexible wire or the like 24, having a greaterlength than the length of the wallet, is insertd into the envelope 10through the open top thereof and the ends of the wire are inserted intothe pockets 23 of the guides through the entrances into the pockets. Thewire is so inserted that it bulges convexly against the bottom edge ofthe envelope, as shown, with its extremities in engagement with theouter edges or edge walls 22 of the guides.

Owing to the resiliency and stiffness of the wire 24 and its length,which causes it to bend or bulge downward, FIGS. 1 and 3, against thebottom edge of the pocket 14 of the wallet, when the wallet is foldedthe fold line is a diagonal, shown at 25, with the two wallet flaps 26and 27 extending at an angle to each other and urged into such positionby the spring wire.

FIG. 6 illustrates the safety characteristic of the device when thewallet is inserted into a garment pocket, such as a hip pocket, forexample, or a pocket in a jacket, wherein the pocket is open at the top.Upon insertion into the pocket as illustrated in FIG. 6, with the foldline uppermost and with the two flaps 26 and 27 somewhat squeezedbetween the opposed side edges 28 of the garment pocket 29, it isapparent that the diagonally opposed corners of the wallet willfrictionally engage the said edges 28. The same will occur if the walletis inserted in reverse position, with the fold line 25 at the bottom. Asa consequence, lifting the wallet from the garment pocket will beaccompanied by a rubbing of the flaps against the pocket walls or edgesand so call the attention of the user, to thwart a pickpocket.

During the folding or unfolding of the wallet, the extremities of thewire 24 will slide up or down the outer edges 22 of the guides, with thetop edges 20 thereof serving as upper limit stops. Owing to the rigidityof the guides 17, especially owing to the substantial width of theplates 19 thereof, it is apparent that the wallet flaps, and especiallythe end portions thereof, are prevented from bending. An undesirablefeature of the device covered in the above-identified patent was thatupon folding the wallet the end portions tended to follow the inherenttendency of the Wire to bend to a degree in a direction at an angle tothe plane of the pocket flap, so that the flaps in the portions at andfor a distance from the end edges tended to become deformed. Theflatness and the substantial width of the guides results in maintainingthe two wallet flaps also flat. Further, the same properties of theguides assist the end portions of the wire, upon folding of the wallet,in that the pressure of the extremities of the wire is distributed overthe entire area of the plates 18 or 19, or both, and upon releasing thewallet after removing it from the garment pocket the two flapsconsequently spring apart more quickly and effectively.

An added feature of the two rigid guides is that the extremities of thewire do not cause any injury to or wear upon the end walls of theenvelope 10 since the wire extremities do not engage these walls oredges of the envelope.

While the invention has been described with particular reference to thestructure shown in the drawing such is not to be construed as alimitation upon the invention which is best defined in the appendedclaims.

It is to be noted that while the folded wallet is positioned in thepocket as shown in FIG. 6, or in the reverse position, the force of thespring wire also tends to spread the two flaps from each other about thefold line 25, so that there is a frictional engagement also with thefront and back walls of this pocket, thus providing a multiple wedgingaction of the wallet against the inside of the garment pocket.

The invention having thus been described, what is claimed and desired tobe secured by Letters Patent is as follows:

In combination with a wallet having a lengthwise pocket open at the topand adapted to be folded about a center fold line into two flaps, asafety attachment comprising a flat envelope of approximately thedemensions of the wallet pocket insertible thereinto, the envelopehaving in each end thereof a thin flat rigid rectangular guide memberextending between the top and bottom edges of the envelope, the guidemembers each comprising two parallel plates joined together along theirtop and bottom edges and along their outermost side edges therebyproviding in the members pockets between the plates thereof having theentrances to the pockets thereof facing toward the fold line of thewallet, the envelope having mounted therein an arched resilient springwire of a length greater than the length of the envelope with the endsof the wire registering in the guide pockets and slidably engaging thewalls of the pockets remote from said entrances and with the bulge ofthe wire engaging the bottom edge of the envelope, one of the plates ofeach guide member having a greater width measured lengthwise of theenvelope than the other plate thereof, the plates of greater width beingcemented to one wall of the envelope and the other plates being cementedto the opposite wall of the envelope.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

